Lester William Burroughs (also known as Chad Burroughs) of Torrington Connecticut a stockbroker formerly employed by Lincoln Investment and an investment advisor representative with Capital Analysts LLC is the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Order Instituting Administrative Proceedings in which Burroughs has been barred from being a stockbroker or investment advisor representative and has been barred from associating with any securities broker dealer or investment advisory based on findings that Burroughs committed fraud. In the Matter of Lester W. Burroughs Administrative Proceeding File No. 3-19657 (Jan. 14, 2020).
SEC noted that Burroughs pleaded guilty to wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 1343. United States v. Lester Burroughs Criminal Action No. 3:19-cr-00292-VAB (D. Conn. Dec. 4, 2019). Between 2012 and 2019, Burroughs misappropriated $575,000.00 from three of his customers by lying to them and misleading them pertaining to his use of their assets.
Burroughs was also charged by SEC in a Complaint which alleged that he engaged in a fraudulent scheme during the period in which he was associated with Capital Analysts and Lincoln Investment. SEC v. Lester Burroughs Case No. 3:19-cv-01913 (D. Conn. Dec. 4, 2019). The Complaint alleged that customers were sold bogus contracts and that Burroughs used the customers’ funds either for himself or to repay other customers in a manner which resembled a Ponzi-scheme. SEC alleged that Burroughs’s conduct was violative of Investment Advisers Act of 1940 Sections 206(1) and 206(2).
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Public Disclosure reveals that Burroughs has been identified in eighteen customer initiated investment related disputes containing allegations of his misconduct while employed by securities broker dealers including Woodbury Financial Services, Crown Capital Securities, Brookstone Securities and Lincoln Investment. On October 7, 2015, a customer filed an investment related complaint involving Burroughs’s conduct in which the customer requested $21,000.00 in damages based upon allegations of an unauthorized stock transaction effected in the customer’s account and omissions by Burroughs as it related to the customer’s annuities purchases.
On December 11, 2019, another customer filed an investment related arbitration claim concerning Burroughs’s activities where the customer sought unspecified damages founded on accusations of unsuitable investment recommendations being made to the customer. FINRA Arbitration No. 19-03658. According to the claim, the customer’s funds were misappropriated. The claim also alleges elder abuse by Burroughs which led the Lincoln Investment customer to experience catastrophic losses. Burroughs has also been identified in a customer initiated investment related written complaint on December 21, 2019 where the customer sought unspecified damages based on accusations that the customer was placed into bad investments including real estate securities and mutual funds while Burroughs was employed by Lincoln Investment.
Burroughs has also been referenced in a customer initiated investment related written complaint on January 8, 2020 in which the customer requested unspecified damages supported by allegations that the Lincoln Investment customer had been placed into bad universal life insurance policies and that false statements had been made by the stockbroker as it pertained to insurance premiums. On April 28, 2020, another customer filed an investment related arbitration claim pertaining to Burroughs’s conduct in which the customer requested $150,000.00 in damages supported by allegations that investment recommendations made by Burroughs failed to be suitable and that Lincoln negligently supervised the stockbroker.
Burroughs was discharged by Lincoln Investment on December 9, 2019 based upon the stockbroker being charged by both U.S. Attorney’s Office and SEC with defrauding investors.
